Rod Stewart's still a road warrior: "I love being up there...I wouldn't have it any other way"

Posted Thursday morning

Credit: RankinRod Stewart is currently out on a headlining tour with support from Cyndi Lauper. While the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer adores hitting the road, he says there's one thing that makes him prefer his Las Vegas residency over a regular nationwide trek: It's much more efficient.

"The only thing I don't like about touring -- and believe me, I do love it -- is the downtime," Sir Rod tells ABC Radio. "It's a hell of a lot of wasted time in traveling and everything like that. But I wouldn't have it any other way!"

On the plus side, Stewart says when he's visiting different cities, "the songs take on a different meaning, 'cause they get different reactions from the crowd." When he's in Vegas, he says, "I have a bit of a déjà vu moment, normally -- 'cause I see the same people in the front row."

During his current tour, Rod is performing all his big hits, plus a few new songs from his upcoming album, Blood Red Roses, due out September 28.

He tells ABC Radio that it can be "really, really difficult" to get his fans enthusiastic about his new material. Describing what it was like singing one new number at his New York City show this week, Rod laughs, "I said, 'Just make [believe] you've listened to "Maggie May" and give it a big round of applause!'"

As for "Maggie," she's in the set list, of course, but Stewart says these days, he most enjoys singing another new song -- a highly emotional ballad called "Grace" -- as well as the blues classic "I'd Rather Go Blind."

"But I love singing all the songs," he insists. "I love being up there. You can tell!"

Stewart's on tour through October; on November 21, he'll resume his Las Vegas residency.